Texas women are finally seeing some improvements in their reproductive rights this summer.
First, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked HB2, the Texas law that threatened to shutter the state’s few remaining abortion clinics by sticking them with unnecessary regulations. Now, a donation of $2 million to Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas will make long term birth control and STD testing affordable for thousands of women across the state.
Two major foundations, the Boone Family Foundation and Harold Simmons Foundation, fueled the donation that will go into effect in September.
“Each time a Texas woman has expanded access to health care and education, regardless of her ZIP code, income or insurance status, it is a win for public health and for our communities,” said Cecilia Boone, board member of the Boone Family foundation and former chair of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Focusing the funds on providing STD tests and long-term contraception, like IUDs, reflects the foundations’ understanding of accessibility to reproductive health services in Texas. Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, women’s health clinics are few and far between in the expansive state. It could take years before new reproductive health clinics replace the ones originally forced to close by HB2.
Plus, Texas still refuses to cover any Planned Parenthood visits — often making birth control and specific STD tests an out-of-pocket expense. With distance and cost significant hurdles for thousands of Texans, it only makes sense to fund a long-term contraception that doesn’t need constant refills or payments.
We felt this was an option women should have. It’s about removing the cost barrier.
“We felt this was an option women should have,” Betsy Healy, with the Harold Simmons Foundation grants director, told the Dallas Morning News. “It’s about removing the cost barrier.”
IUDs have quickly risen to popularity among American women and their doctors — and it’s easy to see why. The small, T-shaped contraption inserted into a woman’s uterus can last up to five years, making it both cost-effective and reliable. This permanent device leaves little room for error that often come with other contraception methods, like skipping a birth control pill or forgetting a condom. Even the federal government is urging Medicaid providers to recommend IUDs to their patients before any other form of contraception.
IUDs have been shown to significantly decrease teenage pregnancy rates in states that cover their cost, like the Colorado state-funded IUD program that nearly cut the teen birth rate in half over four years. State Republicans, however, have since cut this program.